


Just a Sprain

by OnaDacora



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-14
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-20 19:51:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4800149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnaDacora/pseuds/OnaDacora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was inspired by a moment in the game when you have to jump across the broken bridge at Clîaban Rilag and Aloth messes up the jump and ‘sprains a wrist’. Well, I checked my debuffs and noticed that the Sprained Wrist was on my Watcher, not on Aloth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Sprain

It was dark when they approached Clîaban Rilag, and the stones under their feet were slick with moisture from the waterfall between the two bridges. The first bridge –the one that was intact– was guarded, and the Watcher, Anwyn, didn’t want to resort to violence. They could just as easily slip in unseen if they could make it across.

“Seems to me we could jump across,”  Edér said, hooking his thumbs into his belt and shrugging. “It’s not that far.”

The others nodded, except for Aloth. He looked a little uncertain, concern spreading over his face. He slid his foot over the wet surface of the stones as if to judge the traction, then his expression turned smug as Anwyn watched him. His face twisted back to concern, and he bit his lip and made a small noise in the back of his throat.

Anwyn looked to Edér. “Can you get everyone started across?”

He nodded, giving her a small lopsided smile. “Sure thing.”

As Edér took over guiding the others, Anwyn turned her attention to Aloth. “Everything okay?” she said, voice low.

His focus had been inward, and he jumped slightly when she spoke. “Oh! Yes, fine. Everything’s fine,” he said quickly.

Anwyn blinked. “Are you sure?”

Aloth glanced at the others, then back to her. “If Pallegina can make the jump in all that heavy armor, I’m sure I can manage.” He sounded as if he was trying to convince  _himself_  more than her. Or maybe not himself, but Iselmyr.

“Hey, come on you two, we’re waiting,” Edér called.

“You go,” Aloth said, a little too quickly. “I’ll be right behind you.”

Anwyn frowned, but she knew there would be little she could to to help Aloth from this side of the bridge anyway. His eyes went distant and his jaw clenched as she turned to make her way across. With years spent hunting the wilds and scouting terrain far more dangerous than this, she made the jump with ease. Her wolf Ajax was another veteran of such adventures and leaped across shortly after.

Edér lingered nearby, but the rest of their party had gone ahead to scout the entrance to the ruins.

“He gonna be all right?” Edér asked.

Before Anwyn could answer, Aloth began a running start towards the gap in the bridge. She stayed close to the edge, just in case, and she was glad that she did. The wizard slipped just slightly as he went to jump, and she knew before he even made it halfway that he was going to come up short. So, it seemed, did Aloth, because his eyes went wide and he let out a yelp of surprise.

His boot struck the edge but found no purchase, and he slipped and started to fall.

“Aloth!”

Anwyn reached out and grabbed a hold of his hands, throwing herself onto her stomach at the edge of the broken bridge. She dug her fingers as hard as she could to ensure her grasp, and as she caught him his weight wrenched her arms and pain shot through one of her wrists. Biting back a cry of pain and grimacing, Anwyn started to pull.

“Of all th’fool times te let ye try and not muck things up, ye damn coxfither!” Aloth –no, Iselmyr– yelled, presumably at himself. His face smoothed slightly, but his angry expression stayed. “This is _not_  helping!”

“Aloth focus!  _Please_ ,” Anwyn snapped, gritting her teeth at the pain.

He looked up at her, anger dissipating as he searched her face. “Anwyn, are you all right?”

“Now’s not really the time to be worried about her,” Edér chimed in, reaching down to help pull the elf up. “Let’s get you up here first.”

Together they managed to hoist him up to solid ground. Edér stood and brushed dirt off his knees, shaking his head at Aloth and going to go find the others that had gone ahead. Aloth was laying on his back and sucking in deep gulps of air, staring up at the rocks overhead.

Anwyn was on her knees, grimacing and holding her aching wrist in her hand. But she was unconcerned with her own injury, looking over Aloth instead. “Gods, are you okay?” she asked him, releasing her hold on her wrist and touching his arm. “For a second there, I…” she bit her lip and gave a short shake of her head.

Her touch seemed to draw him out of a daze. He turned his head to look at her. “Yes, thanks to you. Maybe just a few scrapes, but I…” he trailed off as he looked her over and saw the arm she was keeping held close to her body. “You’re hurt!” He sat up quickly, expression wavering. “This is all my fault.”

“It’s fine, I think it’s just a sprain.”

“No, if I hadn’t–”

“ _Aloth_ ,” she said, warm but firm. She wrapped her fingers around his hand and squeezed, silencing him. “I’d rather have a  _broken_  wrist than let you fall.”

He glanced down at his hand under hers, then looked back up at her to meet her eyes. Her words seemed to register, and he looked a little stunned. He fought, and lost, against a shy smile, color rising to his cheeks.

“You keep grabbing my hand and comforting me, just like back at the Sanitarium,” he said quietly. “You keep doing that and I might get the wrong idea.”

She wasn’t sure he had remembered that. He had seemed so lost in his own memories, and Iselmyr had been bubbling at the surface. Anwyn felt her own cheeks growing hot, and a certain boldness rising up inside of her. “Or the right one,” she said.

Aloth’s eyebrows vanished under the edge of his hood, and his blush darkened slightly. He broke eye contact and bit his lower lip, his face twitching slightly. After a short internal struggle, he seemed about ready to say something.

“Okay you two,” came Edér’s voice, making them both jump. “Enough flirting, the others are getting impatient. There’ll be time enough for that later.”

“Right,” Aloth and Anwyn said together, jumping awkwardly to their feet.

Edér met Anwyn’s gaze and quirked an eyebrow, looking smug. She frowned at him and he chuckled, turning to lead the way back to the others.

Aloth sighed quietly. “Maybe Durance can do something about your wrist,” he suggested in the tone of one strongly trying to change the subject.

“If I hear him say ‘fiery whore’ one more time I think I might throttle him. I think not,” she said in a low voice, rolling her eyes.

“A fair point,” he said. He went quiet and glanced over at her again, looking pained. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. You’re fine, which is more important.” She smiled at him, despite the persistent throbbing in her wrist. “It’s just a sprain.”


End file.
